Shepherdess
The Shepherdess, also known as the Last Mother or the Black Warden, is one of the Trinity of gods of Emberglow. Her purview is the spiritual wellbeing of the Embari people. She is depicted as a faceless cowled figure, with her left hand at her breast and her right hand extended as if offering it to be held. __TOC__ Overview It is said that the Black Warden's voice is the first voice the Embari hear when they enter the world at birth, and the first they hear when their soul takes flight at death. The Shepherdess has three clearly defined roles: *Welcoming new souls into the world. This is said to take the form of a conversation lasting no longer than a baby's first breath. *Overseeing their moral choices. Some say the Warden even sees that the virtuous and good have better fortune than the wicked, but this is not a view held by everyone. *Ushering the soul to an appropriate afterlife. The Warden's function as a psychopomp is the one most are concerned with, for it is in this final meeting that judgement is placed upon a person. Souls are thought to be blind, and the Last Mother takes their ghostly hands and leads them one way or another. Where Vaskr has a cut-and-dry view of justice as it applies in the mortal world, the Last Mother weighs every thought, word and deed and judges each person accordingly. Her priests are consistent about one thing: moral choice is fundamental to the soul. The Shepherdess neither damns nor beatifies a soul; souls turn out good or evil by their own workings, she merely shows them the way they need to go. There is no notion of heaven or hell in the Embari religion, but it is accepted that each man will reap after death what he has sown in life. The Dwarves believe that those who were good Dwarves (and their standards of goodness differ from those of Elves, and of Men) are led into the very mountains themselves, returning to unity with the elements. Foreigners to Emberglow often find something sinister in the Last Mother. Her imagery is black and grey, cowled statues and sombre priests. The Embari consider her a loving figure, however, and often turn to her in times of spiritual crisis or moral dilemma. Unlike Vaskr, it is said, she never compels a particular course, but opens all hearts to moral and spiritual wisdom, to interpret as they see fit. Priesthood There are no temples to the Shepherdess in any place but Goldenreach. In the glorious capital of Emberglow, a cathedral is built in jet and white granite, with a single aperture of brightly iridescent glass in the central dome. Here, all men are men and no more. The king himself may enter the cathedral in full ceremonial garb and the crown of Emberglow upon his brow, but the moment he crosses the threshold he is but a man in an expensive hat. Knights of the Order of Vaskr may not pursue someone across the threshold of this cathedral. Priests of the Black Warden are called the Marked. They are commonly people who are atoning for some crime by doing good and ensuring that others do good. Unlike priests of Vaskr, clerics of the Black Warden have no legal authority. Rather, they have only the ability to preach goodness, to give moral instruction and to give example. It is a humble life, as they are fated only to garb themselves in what others give them. There is a single consolation; those in service to the Black Warden are marked on their foreheads with a holy sign, marking them as utterly sacrosanct. It is a heinous sin to assault or kill one of the Marked, though they relinquish this sanctity if they do evil. In the past, certain priests volunteered to have themselves Marked for service. They were called Inquisitors, and were prominent in the Age of Heroes, when evil stalked Emberglow. Powerful wizards need a steady income to fuel their more potent spells, and the Inquisitors existed to follow trails of money and other mundane things to ensure that no great evil lurked at the centre. Alignment and Domains The Last Mother is of the chaotic good alignment; although she is said to reward goodness and punish the wicked, she looks into the true motivations behind every action. It is said that she protects true moral freedom, and reveres most those who take responsibility for their actions. In addition to the Good domain which all the gods share, the Shepherdess' domains are Darkness, Liberation, Luck, Repose and Travel.